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The Railway Children

Depending on your sensibility, Lionel Jeffries’ 1970 adaptation of Edith Nesbit’s ‘The Railway Children’ is either a charming classic or the ultimate in middle-class twee. Many will feel the film harkens back to a simpler, more innocent age and will find the experience of watching this new 40th Anniversary Edition remastered Blu-ray release to be something akin to a warm blast of Horlicks for the eyes. Others will find the film’s condescending attitude towards “the poor” profoundly irritating, along with the titular priggish children.

I have to admit that, almost against my better judgement, I am in the former camp and was quite charmed by the film, which is centred on the story of three children who, along with their mother, move to a small village when their father is arrested suddenly for a crime he didn’t commit. Once there, the children have a series of low-key adventures and befriend some of..